A/N: Lyrics are in bold italics. I almost cried while writing this. I wanted to try doing present tense with this one. Just to see how it goes. Also, as this takes place after my season 3 fic "Running Out of Time," I highly recommend reading that before going into this.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or plot mentioned in this fic with the exception of Aline Peverell and her storyline. I do not even own the song "If Only (Reprise)." The song is owned by Dove Cameron & Disney. Supernatural and it's characters & plot are owned by Erik Kripke & the CW.
Two hours.
Dean has two hours left. Aline has exactly four weeks. Neither of them can stand thinking about it.
They don't wanna die and leave Sam on his own, but they know, if they had the chance to go back in time to that moment when they made those deals, they wouldn't change a damn thing.
Sam and Bobby are trying to figure out how to break their contracts. Eventually, they find out that Lilith is the one that holds their contracts.
I should have done it. It should be me going in two hours, not him.
A million thoughts in my head.
Less than an hour.
They find Lilith's previous vessel. A pretty little girl with blond hair wearing a white dress with a giant blood stain on the front, but the demon's gone.
Should I let my heart keep listening?
They find Lilith less than a minute too late. She's in Ruby's old vessel, and she doesn't want to break their contracts. She opens the door as she says in a bit of a sing-song, "Sic 'em, boy."
Neither Sam nor Aline hear the barks, but they hear Dean's screams and shouts of pain as the hellhounds rip and tear at his clothes and skin.
Aline sees them, though, and that makes it ten times worse.
Sam screams Dean's name along with "No!" and "Stop!".
Aline just flat out screams, feeling absolutely helpless as she fights against the invisible force holding her to the wall mere inches away from Dean. Her screams turn to snarls and growls the moment Dean starts taking his last breaths.
Her eyes stay on Dean, all other noises fading to the background. Even as a white light erupts all around her.
She finds herself kneeling on the ground once the light fades, not even bothering to cover her eyes from it. She doesn't look at Sam or Lilith, her blank eyes staring right at Dean's unmoving...body.
Not corpse, never a corpse.
She crawls toward him, taking his hand in hers. She knows where he is, what he's going through. She's seen enough souls down there to know where they end up when they die...
...and it doesn't help at all.
I know it's time to say goodbye
She barely registers Sam's presence as he bolts over to Dean and her. Or even when he pulls her into a bear hug as they both cry over Dean. Her chin is resting on his shoulder.
"I'm gonna bring him back, Sammy," she promises after a few minutes, her voice thick. "I'll get him outta there."
He stays silent, clutching her tighter as if he's afraid she'll leave him too.
So hard to let go...